Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash comes up big

Just ask the San Antonio Spurs, who felt the wrath of Steve Nash and now trail the Suns 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinal series.

For much of the Portland series, Nash's hip was barking at him. He strained it during a shootaround before Game 3 and it limited him in that meeting and in Game 6.

When coach Alvin Gentry kept him out of practice Saturday and Sunday, fans weren't sure what they would see against San Antonio on Monday night at US Airways Center.

What they saw was vintage Nash, whose hip mobility would give Shakira a run for her money.

Thirty-three points, 13-of-19 shooting, 10 assists. Three of those assists led to 3-pointers so Nash essentially had a hand in 56 of the team's 111 points.

Yikes.

And that doesn't include the other plays he set up.

Suns 111, Spurs 102.

Phoenix fans, who have seen Nash put on a show before, still were impressed, shouting "M-V-Steve! M-V-Steve!" early in the fourth quarter.

Based on this game, you better believe it.

Nash set a tone early that gave the Suns much-needed confidence against an organization that has ended the Suns postseason four times in the past seven years.

Four times.

To get out early was huge.

Here's how it went down:

The first score was a Grant Hill 19-footer on a dish from Nash. Then came four consecutive Nash driving layups that made Spurs guard George Hill look befuddled. A few minutes later, Nash hit a 3-point shot that gave the Suns a welcome 14-5 lead.

And he kept at it, delivering a behind-the-back pass to Channing Frye to make it 19-12.He hit his first five shots and forced Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to rethink his defense.

He came up big, too, when the Spurs took the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter, coming up with four points and five assists during a four-minute stretch.

"Steve was absolutely terrific," Gentry said.

Oh, did the Suns need this. Bruce Bowen was not on the floor, but plenty of ghosts were, the ones that were part of this matchup's story lines. Think Robert Horry's takedown of Nash in 2007.

Suns players insisted all that was history, nothing more.

Yeah right.

This team has a chip on its shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon. The Spurs are a reminder of how they've failed, not succeeded. Fans, too. They held a fair share of anti-Spurs signs and couldn't get enough of yelling at Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.

"We came into the mind-set we'd push the basketball, and if we did Steve would get to the basket," Gentry said. "Steve took what was available to him. The way we attacked early opened up the game for us."

So props go to Nash, but give a nod, too, to Gentry. He was squaring off against one of the game's better strategists in Popovich and held his own, much like he did against Portland.

With just over three minutes remaining, he implored his team to give it everything down the stretch.

They listened.

Before the game, Gentry acknowledged he tasted the wine Popovich had delivered to him Saturday that came from the Spurs coach's vineyard.